Sibling Rivalry
by Lunar Kestrel
Summary: Spoiler Warning. Kratos has been gone for over a year, but when he returns, his confusing past is brought along with him to the Irving Household. Lloyd finds himself caught right in the middle. First 4 chapters rewritten!
1. Happy Birthday!

**Sibling Rivalry**

**I've finally re-done it! It's much better now... I hope.**

**Warning-many spoilers-beat the game! **

**Disclaimer- I do not own ToS or its characters.**

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**Chapter One****: Happy Birthday!**

Kratos was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. While on Derris-Kharlan, he had been doing relatively nothing. While the angels were regaining their emotions and humanity, he had been counting the specks on the plaster of the ceiling, though he had assisted many angels with their emotions.

Kratos sighed. 1783, just like last time, and the time before. The seraphim decided to tour the halls again. He had nothing better to do. He sat up on his bed, stood up, and exited trough the automatic sliding door.

Every time he passed an angel, they would smile and say, 'Hello Lord Kratos," or, "Thank you Lord Kratos.' He had to constantly tell them he was no longer their lord. Still, it made Kratos feel better about being on Derris-Kharlan; his efforts _were_ helping the angels.

Kratos stopped abruptly. He did not know why, but he moaned. This routine was monotonous and he was probably wearing a rut into the floor. His mind wandered to a moment with him and Anna years past.

_Kratos laughed. He was playing with Lloyd, Anna at his side. The sun was shining overhead, and it was a magnificent day! Anyone out would be glad to just be alive._

_Anna flopped down on the blanket they had laid outside of their temporary home. She propped herself up on her elbows, glancing over at Kratos. "__You've changed," she whispered, knowing Kratos would hear. True to her thoughts, Kratos looked at Anna._

"Hmm? _What do you mean?" He set down Lloyd, who rolled on his bottom, giggling._

"_Well, when I met you, you would almost never smile, much less laugh. Plus, you scared the hell out of me then. Without me 'n' Lloyd, I'd bet that you'd probably still be your old grumpy self." Anna crossed her arms and made a face, masquerading a grump, which made Lloyd squeal with delight._

"_Gwumpy!" he crossed his arms, too, going cross-eyed. All three laughed._

"_You're right, I would be, and that's why I love you and Lloyd so much." Kratos kissed his wife on the cheek, and began to tease Lloyd with a toy._

"I cannot live here anymore… I have grown too used to my… friends," Kratos looked to the ceiling, as if seeking consultation from higher beings, though he knew up on Derris-Kharlan, they were the highest there were.

"I know I must leave… I have to," the man sighed, and he began to walk where he expected Yuan would be. Yuan had joined him on Derris-Kharlan soon after Kratos had, leaving his Renegades to help the people on their own.

He stalked through the halls, ignoring the angels greeting him. He ran into Yuan sooner than he had expected. Yuan was surprised; Kratos seemed rushed at that time.

"I'm going to leave Derris-Kharlan, Yuan," spoke the auburn-haired man. "I cannot stand it anymore. You should come, too. I think the angels now can take care of themselves for a while.

"Wha-?" babbled Yuan.

"I'm going back. I can't live like this anymore, and I want to see Lloyd," Kratos had a half-desperate look on his face.

The half-elf's face softened. He smiled gently, Kratos needed to see his son. "I will go too. I should visit my Renegades; see their progress. The portal should still work. We aren't that far from Symphonia. We haven't been moving much in the past year and a half. It seems as if we've almost completely stopped… Who should take care of Derris-Kharlan, then? The regular angels might screw up. Bah, I'll find someone. I bet my Renegades miss me," claimed Yuan, chuckling.

_I'm glad Yuan has agreed...we both need the fresh air, _Thought Kratos, and he hastily walked down the hall to his room to prepare.

Kratos packed, and waited for the moment he would return to see his son.

**

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** "Are you ready, Lord Kratos?" called an angel, who was working the warp pad. It needed extra power and work now because the Eternal Sword was on Symphonia with Lloyd. 

"Yes, but where is Yuan?" Kratos called back. He had dressed back into his purple mercenary outfit. It brought back so many memories.

"He said he would go back on his own and he wished you luck and a happy time with your son."

Kratos' lips twitched into a small smile, "Please tell him thank you for me." He nodded to the angel. "Send me back now," Kratos muttered. In a second, Kratos was gone.

**

* * *

** Kratos found himself at the Tower of Salvation ruins. He sighed, breathing in a lung-full of air. He was gladder to be back then he thought he would be. He let out a very rare laugh, walking down the steps and onto a field of grass. He fell onto the soft, green, natural bed, laying there for a minute or two. He savored the wonderful smelling air and the clear blue sky. Anyone who knew Kratos, and saw him just lying in the grass, smiling, would think they were going crazy. 

Kratos stood up, brushing off his legs. "I should leave now…" he murmured to himself. He pulled out his sparkling azure wings, slowly flying up. He finally took off in top speed for Iselia.

While flying, Kratos noticed how towns and villages were expanding, and a new one was just getting started.

_So much in such a little time…_ Kratos mused as he flew along, the wind gently pushing his hair out of his face.

The purple-clad man finally landed in Iselia about a half hour later. He looked around. The streets were full of life. The small village of Iselia was fixed up growing. Kratos turned around to leave. He decided to walk to Dirk's. It would be more of a surprise. He wanted it to be.

* * *

When Kratos got close to the dwarf's house, he heard chattering and laughing. His angel hearing helped him distinguish the voices. Present was the whole regeneration group! Everyone who helped in the Chosen was there. He wondered why there they were all at Dirk's house at once. Then, it hit him. Today was Lloyd's nineteenth birthday already! Kratos smacked his head. He was so stupid; forgetting his own son's birthday was today!

He pulled out something from his pocket. "Well, I was going to give it to him sooner or later...why not now?" Kratos clutched the small item in his hands and started walking again.

"Lloyd! Guess what time it is!" Kratos heard someone say. _Genis_

"Yes! Cake!" _And that's Lloyd,_ the seraphim shook his head. He was the same as ever.

He saw through the trees someone, or more specifically Regal, bringing out a huge cake from the house. It had nineteen colorful candles planted on its top, each one shining different shades of red, orange, or yellow.

He was waiting for the opportune moment to come out, and he found it when the all of Lloyd's friends started to sing.

* * *

Lloyd was sitting in front of all of his friends. There was a great cake, baked by Regal, of course. It was extravagant; layers high, and skillfully iced blue-green. 

He had received multiple gifts, including a puppy from Colette. She said now Noishe would have some company, later admitting that it took all her willpower not to keep the puppy. This made everyone laugh.

Lloyd sighed sadly, hoping the others wouldn't notice, _There's still one thing missing… I know… that's what I'll wish for!_

Everyone started to sing, all in one voice, it seemed, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Llo-oyd!-"

Everyone stopped their singing from hearing a baritone voice- new to the group- finish the song, "Happy birthday to you." All eyes turned to the newcomer, Kratos.

"Dad?" Lloyd jumped up, completely stunned. The few who never really knew Kratos looked a bit uncomfortable, but all held the same shock in their eyes.

"Kratos?" Raine choke out in surprise.

"DAD!" Lloyd repeated, this time, though, he ran over to his father.

He jumped and tackled Kratos to the ground, "You're back! How and why?" Lloyd was grinning from ear to ear. He had missed Kratos more than he expected, and was completely comfortable with 'dad'. Of course, over the 17 or so months Kratos had been gone, Lloyd began to miss the criticism on his swordsmanship.

"I just couldn't stand it up there anymore. I wanted to see you. I'm happiest around my family," said Kratos, letting a smile tug at his lips. "Now could you get off of me, I can't breathe."

"Oops, sorry." Lloyd blushed, jumping off of his father.

Kratos bent down and whispered into Lloyd's ear, "Lloyd, shouldn't you get back to your cake before all the candles blow out themselves?" Lloyd looked at his father.

"You're right, come on everyone! We have a new member in this party!" Lloyd grabbed his father's arm and tugged him along to that table. Kratos had to smile. That was happening a lot lately. He chuckled. Lloyd was just as childish as before.

The two sat down, and though it was a bit awkward with Kratos just coming in, all became comfortable, allowing Lloyd to blow out the candles. But before he could-

"Make a wish Lloyd!" Colette said.

_I need to think of a new wish, since that's already come true... I know!_ _I wish for something exciting to happen! _Lloyd sucked in, and blew out with great force.

The colorful candles were blown out; none even left flickering. Everyone clapped for the new nineteen-year-old.

"What'd you wish for?" Genis asked Lloyd.

"I can't tell you! It won't come true if I do!" Lloyd retorted jokingly.

Kratos walked a bit off from the group, beckoning to his son, "Lloyd, come here, please. I want to give you something."

"Really? What is it?" Kratos pulled something from his pocket, and put it in Lloyd's hand. It was a locket; inside was a small picture of Kratos and Anna both holding a young Lloyd. On the opposite side, _Aurion_ was carved in a fancy scrawl.

"My present to you…"

"W-Wow. This is yours, you told me once it was your only picture left of mom! You should keep it, it belongs to you!" Lloyd insisted, pushing it back.

"Now it belongs to you. Like your mother used to say, 'The best memories are the ones up here'." Kratos tapped on Lloyd's forehead.

"Thank you, Dad!" Lloyd threw his arms around Kratos' neck in a loving embrace. Kratos hugged back.

Lloyd let go, remarking, "We should go get some cake."

"Sure."

* * *

By nightfall, the Tethe'allans had left; only the ones from Sylvarant remained. They were chatting pleasantly about the past; Lloyd, Genis, and Colette playing with Noishe's and Lloyd's new puppy. Kratos was out getting firewood, for the supply was running low.  
There was a knock on the door. The sound reverberated through the small house. 

"It's unlocked, ye' can come in!" Dirk called, in his gruff, dwarfish voice.

Two people emerged from the door, a man and a woman. They appeared to be twins, and though they were different genders, they looked exactly the same. The man had messy brown hair, and was garbed in leathery brown pants and long-sleeve green shirt with a tan vest over it. The vest was unbuttoned and hanging loosely. He had striking red-brown eyes, and his chin was lightly covered with stubble.

The woman had medium length, messily cut brown hair. The woman dressed similarly, but she, on the other hand, wore a tan long-sleeve shirt, similar pants, and a green vest. It was buttoned up tight, unlike the man's. She, too, had eyes of that color.

Both were carrying long, wooden pikes with shining steel blades. On each of their right hands were exspheres. They looked pitiful and ragged.

"Please, we need food," the man pleaded.

"We haven't eaten in forever!" the woman whimpered.

Colette clasped her hands together, "We have enough leftover food from the party! We need to help them."

The rest agreed, if not a bit nervously. The strangers seemed familiar. It was slightly suspicious; them coming to Dirk's house and completely missing Iselia.

The man helped the woman to sit down. Dirk serve them the leftovers them food, and they started gobbling it down like vultures near a dead carcass.

After eating, the woman stood up. It seemed as if all her strength had returned. She bowed, "Thank you so much for the food. And sorry for our manners, we're just..."

The man tapped the woman's shoulder, "Hey, isn't that Noishe?"

"Yeah, it is! Come here boy! You remember us? How'd you get a hold of this Protozoan?" Noishe ran up to them and started to lick their faces. The man chuckled deeply while the woman pet behind Noishe's large ears.

"Looks like our search is over, Alex," the woman stated proudly, placing her hands on her hips.

Everyone looked at them confusedly, Raine in particular, "I thought you needed food."

"Oh, we did," the twins said in unison. The man, Alex, nodded.

"We have been traveling _forever_, and we were very hungry, but-" the woman started.

The man continued, "-we are actually on another mission. We are her because of certain rumors we heard. Our hunger was just from lack of common sense during our search. Heh," he laughed nervously.

The woman put in, "My name is Joan, and this is Alexander." She pointed to the man.

The Twins put their hands together, "We are the Twins A-"

Right then, Kratos came through the door, carrying a pile of newly cut firewood, "Sorry I took so long, you didn't have enough, so I had to chop some more. I-" he caught a glimpse of Alexander and Joan, "Joan, Alex...you're a-alive!" At that moment he dropped all the wood on his feet, but did not care at all.

"Kratos!" the Twins yelled out. They ran to the Seraphim, hugging the life out of him.

"Ggghhh! Ow!"

"Heh, sorry Kratos," both said together.

"Who _are _you two?" Lloyd cast them a suspicious glance.

Once again, in unison, the Twins put their hands together, "Ahem, like we were saying-We are the Twins Aurion!"

**

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****  
Did you enjoy this redo? It used to be three or four pages, but now it's five and a half! I'm so proud! This is the longest chapter I've ever written! Oh, review if you are new, and if not, maybe tell me how you like the new chapter. As always, constructive criticism, please, and no flames.**


	2. Family Troubles

**Disclaimer: I do not own ToS, though I wish i did sometimes... I only own Joan and Alex.**

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**Chapter Two: Fmily Troubles**"AURION?-! You're related to _DAD_!-?" Lloyd gasped. He wasn't the only one. 

"W-wait...'Dad'?" Alex was laughing. Joan slapped him.

"Who's the lucky woman, Kratos?" Joan asked sweetly.

"Anna…" Kratos replied tersely.

Alex looked at Kratos questioningly, "Wait, I thought you two outright hated each other!"

"We did," Kratos sighed.

"So you got married and had a son who's, what, seventeen?" Joan asked, nudging Kratos' arm.

"Nineteen," Lloyd said proudly.

"Nineteen. Why didn't you tell us?" Alex asked. Waving his arms around

Kratos growled, "Partly because I thought you were dead! You guys worried me!"

"Aww, Alex look, Kratos was worried about us! Hey, Kratos, shouldn't it be the other way around? After all, you're the younger sibling."

"I can take care of myself better than the two of you combined."

Genis walked up to Kratos, putting his hand on the man's shoulder, "So you have older siblings...don't worry, I know how you feel." The three kids cracked up laughing, partly because it was true, and partly because Genis was still short, and it looked hilarious when he placed his hand on Kratos' (who was much taller than he) shoulder. Raine commenced in smacking Genis.

"Hey Kratos, tell me, who is that shrimp?" Joan examined Genis.

"Joan, Alex, this is Genis Sage and Colette Brunel, Lloyd's friends," Kratos pointed to Colette and Genis. He then pointed to Dirk and Raine, "And those are Raine Sage, Genis' sister, and Dirk, Lloyd's foster father."

"Foster father? Why does he have a foster father?" Alex piped up.

Kratos frowned and looked away, "We were always on the run from Kvar, even after Lloyd was born… When he was three, we were attacked and Anna… was killed." Kratos left out the detail involving him. It was much too painful. "I thought Lloyd was dead as well, so I returned to Cruxis… Fifteen years later, I was sent to make sure Colette became an angel, and I found Lloyd again… I shall explain the details later; that's all you need to know now."

Joan looked up, "Oh, now I got the chills. Let's stop being so dreary and sad. We need to celebrate for finding our baby brother!"

"Wait a minute!" Raine stood from where she was sitting. She scrutinized the two. "I can see the similarities in you three, mainly your eyes, but if you are Kratos' older brother and sister, how the hell are you alive, hm?"

"Oh, about that..." The twins turned around, each pulling out a pair of clear, pale yellow wings of two different shades.

"Angels! You're angels too!" Colette gasped.

"Yep! During Kratos' journey with Mithos, Yuan, and Martel, they ran into us. After Martel died, Mithos thought we could be of use to him, something about persuading Kratos to do stuff. We're both four years older than him. Our crystals aren't as powerful, so we have to sleep ever so often and eat. We do not age whatsoever, but our angelic powers are limited. Though, after a while we got really bored, so we left. Kratos thought we were dead, 'cause we were caught in this huge-"

"-_huge_ explosion," Alexander continued Joan's sentence, "We even thought we were dead for a time."

"I'm very glad that you are alive and well, and are here now, but I know you would not come to find me for no reason," Kratos gave the twins an 'I know you've got a secret, and I'm going to figure it out!' kind of look.

"Oh, come on! You're our baby brother, of course we would!" said Joan, hugging Kratos again. He pushed her off of him, glaring.

"First, no you wouldn't. Second, stop calling me baby brother; it's only a few years gap. Why are you here? Is something wrong?" Kratos put on a concerned look.

Alex sighed, "Fine, you got us. We actually came to warn you…" His face was grim, "Okay, Adrian's back! He wants revenge; starting with you, since you had the greatest relationship with him."

"No! That can't be true! I thought he was dead, he can't be alive again! Impossible!" The Auburn-haired man looked extremely worried.

"Dad, you looked worried. Who's Adrian? Dad?"

Joan put her hand on Lloyd's shoulder, "Adrian...Adrian's our oldest brother. He's pure evil. When he grew up and left the house, he did many horrible things. He used to be so caring, but when he left...we don't know what happened. He would kill just for fun. He stopped many Chosen's in the past, because he hated Cruxius_ and_ salvation. Once, he even tried to assassinate Kratos. He was the one who set off the explosion that nearly killed us."

"But how is he alive? He died! He was caught in the explosion, too!" Kratos reasoned.

"He did die, or almost did, but he did something unforgivable: He drained the life of some passerby just to heal himself. He has some _very_ dark powers now, and he's getting stronger…" Alex's words made everyone shiver.

"We received a letter. It told us that the author of the letter was a prisoner of his, and could barely pass this through, but somehow did. Now we know that Adrian is indeed back," Joan slammed her hands on the table.

Kratos got a serious and determined look on his face, "And we need to stop him!"

"I'm coming too!" Kratos turned around to face Lloyd, who looked equally determined.

"No! I don't want you to get tangled in these family matters."

"But it's my family, too, and what if you died? You just came back! I could help! You three can't do it alone! Besides, you might need my help with Origin or something! I don't know, but you need to let me come!" the Eternal Swordsman said forcefully.

"Kratos…let the kid come. He deserves to know what his whole surviving family is like," Joan patted Lloyd's head.

"I suppose you're right...Lloyd, you can come, but be warned, Adrian will kill you without hesitation. He would probably get pleasure from knowing you were my son," Kratos gripped his son's shoulders.

"I'll be fine," Lloyd smiled confidently, which made Kratos smile in return, Lloyd was just like his mother.

"Kratos please let me come, too!" Colette looked at him, "I want to help Lloyd, like he helped me on the regeneration journey!" She clasped her hands together resolutely.

"Me too!" Genis chirped, "You will need a magic user, and a cook!"

Kratos groaned quietly.

"Come on! The more the merrier!" Alex hooted.

"Fine," the swordsman grumbled.

"I also think I should come, because terrible…_terrible_ things would happen in your sleep if you brought Genis home dead; terrible things. Even though you don't sleep… there will be terrible things. Plus, this could be a great opportunity for archeological discovery!" Raine exclaimed.

Kratos slapped his forehead, "Let's just bring the Tethe'allans as well!" his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Okay!" the twins said in unison.

"No!" Kratos rubbed his temples. _Great_, he thought,_ we're going to find my brother with three kids, a healer, me, and two goofballs called my sister and brother._

"Alright! Let's get some rest! We should set out tomorrow!" Lloyd punched his gloved hand up in the air.

_Get ready for a whole new headache, Kratos._

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**Joyous rapture! Aw, but this was only three pages, still I think this is going very well! Review please!****

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	3. Childhood Memories

**Disclaimer-I don't own ToS or its characters, only my OCs**

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****Chapter Three: Childhood Memories**

The group left Dirk's house the next day. It was still early, a bit after dawn.

Genis sighed, "This reminds me of the good old days; forcing Lloyd awake and traveling at the crack of dawn."

"It does, doesn't it?" Colette chirped, smiling sweetly.

"Lloyd, do you still have the Rheairds?" Raine questioned.

The swordsman rubbed the back of his head, "Erm, no. The Renegades took back four of them. Yuan said he was stealing back what we stole from him. One went to Sheena and Zelos who are living together. One went to Presea and Regal and one went to Colette, and one to me. He knew you guys would be better on foot. Mine and Colette's seemed to have… died."

"Hm, then we should give Yuan a visit to borrow some more…" Kratos contemplated.

"Yuan, eh? This should be mush fun!" Joan clapped.

"Well, let's get started. We should go to Iselia to get supplies," Alex said, as they entered the forest.

Lloyd looked at him, puzzled, "Why? We have plenty food."

"'Cause, Adrian has formed tons of chimeras, just for us...he recently found we were alive, so he wants to eliminate us in any way possible," Joan sighed. "We will need gels and all. This will be troublesome…"

"How about we get the supplies now and not think of that!" Colette clasped her hands together, ever optimistic.

"That would be the wisest thing. Besides, the longer we wait, the easier targets we will be," Raine claimed. "Does everyone have weapons, then? Genis and I have ours, you never know what will happen," She held up her own staff for an example.

Kratos nodded, as did Lloyd, Alex, and Joan. "Colette, do you have your old chakrams?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah! I do! I'll go fly to get them! I'll be back, go on, I'll meet you in Iselia," Colette then took out her glittering pink wings and began to fly away from the group.

Kratos began walking to the edge of the forest, "Should we get going then?

* * *

After not too long, the group emerged from the forest. And since Lloyd knew his way around, they made it out even faster. It was also a short walk to Iselia. 

When they walked around in the town, Alex began chuckling, "It has been a while since we were here last… It's very nice, don't you agree, Joan?"

His twin breathed in, "Ah yes, I remember. That tree was just a sapling. It's grown… Agh! Alex, look in that tree!" She pointed to one a bit behind the tree she was looking at.

"Ooohh, what?" Genis asked. "Aw, it's just a boring bird. I thought it'd be exciting."

Kratos looked at it, too, and hissed in a whisper, "No, but it's dangerous! It hasn't seen us yet! Everyone get into the shop, quick!"

They all crowded in to the nearest building, which happened to be the supply shop.

"What was that about, huh?" Lloyd waved one of his hands into the air.

Joan backed against a wall, slid down it, and sighed, "Oh, I'm so glad it didn't see us. This town would be in ruin!"

Alex agreed, "Yes, it would've been bad. That was one of Adrian's spies. He nearly got Kratos with that one last time. When it doesn't see us there, it'll leave soon."

Colette walked in just then, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I couldn't find them for a while, but I got them! I just saw you guys rush in here. Was there something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Lloyd assured her, glancing at his father with apprehension.

"I'll get the supplies," Raine volunteered, "but I'll need money." Kratos dropped a bag of gald into her hands.

"That should be enough." Raine went to buying, then.

Soon enough, Joan and Alex were sure the spy was gone. They exited the shop and then Iselia. Thus their new adventure truly began.

* * *

Everyone was gathered round a campfire, Genis cooking curry for dinner. Raine was reading, Colette was staring at Lloyd without him knowing, Lloyd was polishing his swords, Kratos was sitting, doing absolutely nothing, and the twins were rambling on and on, and on…and on…………and on. 

Kratos then spoke up, "Where is Adrian now? And when we get there, what are we to do?"

"Well, the letter said that Adrian's taken residence in the Remote Island human ranch. We will fight him and rescue the prisoner and others if there are others," Joan said, tracing her finger I the dirt.

"Right, it might take a while, so there might not be prisoners then…" Alex responded. Everyone grew silent, and that was how it stayed for a while.

While the curry was cooking, Genis scooted closer to the twins, trying to lighten the mood. "Soooooo, has Kratos always been so…so…so just the way he is?" Genis said in an undertone.

"Naaaahhh. When he was a kid, he was an evil, deviant, sadistic, little trickster. Ugh, somehow, he always tricked us out of our money…" Joan growled. Everyone heard that comment, so they all were listening intently.

"Hmmm, I can't really put my finger on one specific time...how 'bout you, Joan?"

"I know, that time-"Joan was cut off by her auburn-haired brother.

"That time I dared you to switch places." Everyone stared at Kratos, who was smirking malevolently. Lloyd, a well as the others were chilled to the bone. He had no idea how… creepy his father could be.

Colette stared at him at confusion, "How would that get their money from them?"

"Well, I was nine, and they were thirteen. I bet them that they couldn't switch places for twenty-four hours, full. If they could, I would owe them 10,000 gald each. If they couldn't, they would owe me the same amount from each of them; 20,000 gald in all. My class had the day off, so I spied on them _all_ day. Everything was going smoothly for them, until after school," Kratos stopped there, chuckling at the memory.

"What happened next?" Genis looked at the three, ignoring the curry until it almost burned in the pot. He hastily rushed to it and took it off the fire.

Alex continued, grumbling, "Well, I had totally forgot that I had a date, and so did Joan. I was with the prettiest girl in school-"

"And I was with the handsomest guy in school," Joan sighed in remembrance.

"I decided to follow Joan, because I knew she would break down first. Halfway through their dinner, I got hungry, so I went into the restaurant, walked up to Joan, and I asked as innocently as I could, 'Hey, Joan! Can I borrow some money for dinner? I'm starving!' She answered, 'Hell no! Why would I lend money to someone who got me in this whole predicament?' She said it a bit too loud, because then Alex's date started asking questions like, 'Who is this?', "Why did he call you Joan?', and 'What do you mean 'predicament'?' Right then, Alex came through the door, and he said, 'Switch back with me, Joan! I can't take that lug head anymore!' He pointed to Joan's date, which had followed Alex to the restaurant. After that, Joan's and Alex's date left and ended up going out with each other. I got my 20,000 gald and I had a really fancy dinner at that same restaurant," Kratos concluded his story, examining his hand, and by then, everyone was on the ground laughing. Alex and Joan were pouting.

"Wow...dad...I...didn't know...you were...like...that!" Lloyd gasped between laughs.

Everyone began to settle down, wiping tears from their eyes and getting a final chuckle out. Genis began serving the food, while he did, he commented, "Talk about luck, daring them on the day they both had dates!"

"Oh, it wasn't luck. I planned it." The seraphim said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Some of the group, at that moment, could just imagine Kratos cackling evilly. They shuddered at that. Genis nearly dropped the pot of curry.

"YOU WHAT?!" Joan screamed dramatically. "I LOST 10,000 GALD, AND YOU PLANNED THAT TO HAPPEN?" She began to cry in an exaggerated way. "And I was going to buy something with that!" She sobbed.

"Me too!" Alex complained. The twins started to cry on each other's shoulder.

"It's not fair!" they both whined. Everyone pretty much ignored them except for Colette, who's, well, Colette. They wanted to hear more from Kratos.

"20,000 gald, that's a lot of money," Raine said. "How did you get so much?"

"Actually," Kratos said, "our family was rich. You want to see?" Kratos pulled out a pouch. 'Money from Joan and Alex' was embroidered on the pouch. He poured out the contents onto the ground.

"Oh my gosh! That must be at least 250,000 gald!" Colette gasped.

"This is everything I won from Alex and Joan. For some reason, I never wanted to spend one gald. When I had the nice dinner, I just brought along my own money, just to spite Joan and Alex. Though, I got twice this much in yearly allowance."

"Wow, my dad was rich when he was a kid!" Lloyd hooted, dropping his arm around his father's shoulder.

"That'll be something to tell your children, 'Guess what, kids! You have a rich grandpa!'" Genis laughed.

Raine was amused by something else, "This… this gald! It's so old, but in mint condition! May I have one? Please?" Kratos shrugged, and handed her one.

The twins seemed to have recovered. Joan tried to direct the conversation elsewhere, "Speaking of being rich, remember when you first brought Yuan to our house? Y'know, when he was that cute little six-year old?"

Lloyd, who had been drinking some water started choking from the laughter, "Yuan?!"

"Yeah, I remember that! Kratos, you brought Yuan to our house, and you were trying to cheer him up. He was crying his eyes out. You had bought him some ice cream, but nothing seemed to make him happy again," Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes, I remember. When he finally calmed down and looked around, I remember him saying, 'You live here?!' After that, he dropped his ice cream, and nearly fainted. I recall the maid having a fit about the chocolate staining the carpet," Kratos chuckled. "Then the next day he brought his "special-best friend" Martel over and she had the same reaction as him, except, she did faint."

"I can't imagine the Goddess Martel fainting over a house," Raine said, chuckling. Nods of agreement replied to her comment.

"It was no ordinary house! It was huuuuge!" Joan stretched out her arms to full length.

Alex laughed, "Ah yes, plenty of times, a pipsqueak Kratos would smuggle himself into our parents' bags when they left for a trip."

Kratos smirked slightly, "At least I didn't have a fluffy bunny named Mr. Fmph-!" Alex quickly covered Kratos' mouth.

"Ah heh heh heh, they don't need to know about him, now do they?" Alex nervously chuckled. Joan, on the other hand, let out a pealing laughter. She rolled onto her back, clutching her gut. The others didn't see the humor, but then, they didn't know the details.

The night went on like that; stories being told at the others ate. All were having a good time, enjoying themselves. Soon, sleep overcame the whole of the group, even a light nap for he angels.

Far away from the camp, a man was perched in a tree. He watched as they slept, a wicked grin plastered onto his face, "Well, well, well, Kratos, you have a son now… excellent. Watch out, Aurions, Big Bro's arrived." He jumped down fro the tree, so silently, that it would be hard for even angels to hear. He began to silently saunter through the new moon darkness.

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****Wow! I love this chapter! Please review!**


	4. Adrian

**Disclaimer: I do not own ToS, only Kratos' siblings... Yeah. **

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Chapter Three: Adrian**

The camp was dead-silent. Blankets and the sleeping forms of the travelers were strewn over around the dying fire. Smoke wisped from the charred logs.

Joan had herself propped against a nearby rock, keeping watch over her companions. She yawned; glad that soon it would be Kratos' turn. He probably wasn't even asleep. Joan groaned under her breath. He was doing that to spite her. It was obvious. She was getting tired.

Closest to the fire, Lloyd was sleeping peacefully. His mind was swimming with things related to swords and Cole- er, things that boys dream of. Alas, he did not have a very strong bladder, so awake he did to take a leak.

Standing up, the red-clad swordsman stretched his limbs, yawning. Beside the rock, he spotted Joan, and he waved to his aunt. She flicked her hand up half-heartedly.

_She must be tired, like me, heh,_ Lloyd thought, grinning, as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Suddenly, something moved. It was so quiet, and Lloyd could barely hear it. He wasn't sure if it was even real, but glancing over to Joan, he realized she had heard it as well.

"Who's there?" Lloyd grabbed one of his swords warily. Tensely, he called out, "Show yourself!" Some of the others stirred.

A human-sized black blur jumped down right down in front of Lloyd. He let out a panicked scream, nearly falling on his back. The only thing that stopped him was that same shadowy figure. It had managed to slip right behind him in a flash. Anyone who was asleep before had been woken up by now.

Lloyd felt a cold object on his throat. The person pushed the item further closer to Lloyd's neck. It was a dagger. The metal made the swordsman uncomfortable. What was worse, he felt a trickle of blood run down his neck.

The fire had long since smoldered into ashes, so few could see the assailant's face. Everyone, thought, could feel his presence, which seemed almost demonic.

"You!" Kratos hissed with apparent loathing. "Let go of my son, you bastard!"

The person 'tsk'ed, "Now is that any way to talk to your big brother after so many years?" The man said with faux innocence. "Besides, you don't want me to make a mess of your son on this lovely campsite, now do you?"

"Big Brother?!" Genis' voice was heard in the darkness.

"You must be Adrian!" Raine's voice rang out this time.

"Ah, so they told you about me?" Adrian scoffed. They could hear the malice in his bittersweet voice, "How sweet. Fireball!" Adrian lit up he fire. "Now, let me see... Why, you've been degraded to traveling with children for help! I am disappointed, Kratos," he said, studying Raine, Genis, and Colette.

His own appearance was hard to distinguish still, for he wore all black. Still, a broadsword was visible on his back. His hair was nearly shoulder length, earthy brown, and roughly cut. His bangs covered half of both his eyes, which were blood red, and evil through and through. The fire reflected off a small exsphere on his left hand.

"Shut up, and put Lloyd down!" Kratos hissed, drawing his sword.

"Well! Kratos, you have no right to give me orders!" Adrian said with a hurt voice.

Lloyd cried out in pain as Adrian pushed the dagger in a bit further, though not fatally.

The Aurions, Kratos in the lead, bounded towards Adrian, weapons prepared.

With a flick of his hand, he sent the three sprawling back.

"I apologize that I must cut this little meeting short. Farewell, brothers, sister. Oh, and Kratos, I'm taking your son!"

Adrian took the dagger, slamming the back of Lloyd's head with it. Lloyd slumped hin the brunette's arms. From his back sprung transparent demon-like ash-grey wings. A wave of demonic energy made all's breath catch in their throats.

"I hope we will see each other again," Adrian said in a mocking voice.

Just as Adrian flew upwards, an inch, he sank to the ground again, one hand clutched his head.

"I-I-" He looked up. His eyes seemed to for a second flicker to a chocolaty color. His voice sounded... desperate, "Find me at the Remote Island Human Ranch..." Adrian's eyes were crimson once again. "No, I _will _be seeing you..." He pushed off the ground, soaring through the sky in seconds, faster than any of the angels could.

Kratos sheathed his sword, muttering Angelic curses under his breath. "We wont be able to catch him..." Kratos spat dejectedly.

"That is...strange..." all eyes turned to the half-elven professor.

"What's strange, Professor?" Colette asked.

"Did you see his face? He looked like he was in pain... Also, was I the only one who saw his eyes? He sounded confused, as well. Besides, why would he tell us where he's hiding? We're his enemies." Raine contemplated.

"You're right," Genis spoke up, "but what if it's a trap?"

"No. I don't think it is... He used to sound like that, y'know, not evil 'n' stuff... Plus, Adrian wouldn't be stupid enough to tell us to come defeat him. I think something's up. We need to go to that ranch," Alex spoke his thoughts aloud.

"But first, we should get some sleep," Joan put in, the rest agreeing. Alex volunteered to watch. Not one party member slept without worrying. Many didn't even sleep. Tension was heavy that night.

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Lloyd groaned; his head hurt. His mind was foggy; vision blurry. As the world came into focus, Lloyd saw a red-headed woman staring him down. Her face was parallel to his and only two inches from it. "Aaaack!" The woman jumped back in surprise. 

"Sorrysorrysorry!!" the woman stammered. "You just remind me of someone I know, I just don't know who... Do I know you?"

"...Where... Where am I," Lloyd asked, "and who are you?" He looked around. This place looked familliar.

"Oh! Uh, I'm Persephone Aurion! And you are in a cell in the Remote Island Human Ranch, a.k.a. Adrian's hideout," the woman said, fidgeting.

Oh. That's where it was familliar. Lloyd had seen them when they were freeing the prisoners on the regeneration journey. He'd just never been in one. They were on the bottom floor.

"Aurion... Is there any chance you are related to Kratos Aurion?"

"Yes. I'm his sister... You know him?" Persephone asked quizically. "Wait! That's it! You remind me of Kratos. Well, except your attitude."

"Aargh! How many siblings does Dad have?!" Persephone looked at him strangely. "Oh, right. I'm Lloyd Irving-Aurion! Kratos is my dad," Lloyd grinned, despite his situation.

"That's cool," Persephone had fiery red hair complimented by a mass of freckles dotting her face. She had green-gray eyes that observed Lloyd closely. Strangely enough, she was pretty well dressed for a prisoner. She had a long black coat that reached her knees. Underneath was a pink tank top shirt. She had long black pants that matched her coat, halfway covered with tight brown boots that seemed out of place. She smiled as well, "So, have you met the twins?"

"Yeah, they're awesome! Hey, Persephone, you look dressed good for someone living here for..."

"Oh! Well, I've been in here for a very long time, so Adrian-" She was then cut off by Adrian, himself, walking into the room.

" Adrian!" Persephone said excitedly, gripping onto the bars of the cell.

Lloyd, though, was angry, "You're the one who kidnapped me, aren't-"

Persephone put her hand over Lloyd's mouth, muffling him, "Shhhhh!"

"Why?!" Lloyd ripped her hand off his mouth.

Adrian sat on a chair that was near the cell. He placed his head in his hands. He looked exhausted. In a hushed tone, he confronted Lloyd "Be patient, Lloyd... Everything shall be explained... soon, alright?" Lloyd just sat there silently; stunned. Adrian didn't seem so... malevolent now.

He was dressed similarly to Persephone. He, if fact, was wearing the same black coat and pants. The jacket was buttoned up with red clasps, going half way up his neck. His pants covered large jet-back boots. He still had the sword hanging on his back. In the light, Lloyd saw that it didn't have a sheath, and its blade was lined with diamond, its pommel stone was black opal. It looked very threatening.

Adrian noticed Lloyd eyeing it, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you with it." He chuckled lightly.

Lloyd averted his eyes, but looking back noticed his uncle's eyes were a similar color to his. Though he appeared around 25, the weariness reflected in those eyes made him look much older.

"What happened to you?" Persephone faced her older brother, concern apparent on her face. Adrian had a large bruise on his cheek, as well as a cut that was lightly bleeding. His jacket was torn in various places.

"Nothing serious," he smiled. "I just told Kratos and the twins that I was staying here, and told them to come. _He _wasn't very happy," Adrian laughed humorlessly.

"Oh, well, at least they will come soon. Maybe this whole thing will be done soon..."

"WHAT IS GOING-"

Persephone once again covered Lloyd's mouth, this time with more force. "You'll wake Y'Tal!" she said in a hushed tone.

"Who's Y'Tal?" Lloyd asked, whispering.

"Y'Tal... he's the demon living inside of me... I'm really not... bad, I just have no control over myself when he's awake," Adrian lowered his gaze to his shoes. "So I try to sleep whenever he's awake, which is difficult when my body is running amok under Y'Tal's control. He even has the nerve to take my identity. Anyways, when he goes to sleep, my _soul_ you could say, takes control..."

"Every night or so, Adrian comes to visit me. Y'Tal forced him to capture and imprison me..."

"I still feel terrible," Adrian choked out.

"But he still does everything to make me as comfortable as I can get!" Persephone pointed out.

"Is that why you're wearing his clothes...?" asked Lloyd hesitantly.

Persephone giggled. "So you've noticed?" Adrian said lamely. "Well, Sephie's Clothes were getting kinda worn, so I had to lend her some of mine."

Something struck Lloyd. "Well if you're so-" he started, voice raised.

"Shhhhh!" both Aurions shushed Lloyd. He reeled back.

Lloyd groaned softly. He started again, quieter, "If you're as good as you say, why is you _sister_ still here?"

Adrian gazed at Lloyd with pitiful, sad eyes. He sighed tiredly, "I tried... once, but things didn't go according to plan." The man looked away, ashamed, it seemed. "I nearly got her out safely... but somehow Y'Tal knew and he stopped us before I could get her out. I guess he can read my thoughts when we both are awake... Well, she got thrown back in here and I had to..." he choked on his words. "He had me beat her, and I... Well let's just say I couldn't go out for a while."

Lloyd looked at him quizzically, so Adrian slowly unbuttoned us coat from the bottom, and partially lifted up his shirt underneath. On his stomach there was a long scar going from one side to the other. Lloyd winced.

As Adrian re-did his coat, Lloyd spoke up, "Well, Dad said that you weren't _evil_ until you left on your own... So that means you didn't always have Y'Tal, right? How did you-? Why did you let him in you?"

"That was a terribly mistake... It's because I was so selfish... See, I..." For the rest of the night, Adrian told his tale of how he got an inner demon.

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**Soooo, how was it? Review please!**

**Oh, some of you reader from before may notice I changed the demon's name. I didn't like it. There. **

**And to clear some things up for others of you, the twins are just above Kratos in the age line; about 30 before their 'angelification'. Persephone was about 33 at that time as well. She was closest in age with Adrian, who was only a year older than her, though he was in his mid twenties when he stopped aging due to Y'Tal in his body. Y'Tal was immortal agewise, therefore, Adrian was too when inhabited by the demon. **

**There. Bye. Seriously. Bye.**


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